Thursday July 9, 2020 – the consultative commission entrusted with the reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris meets. On the agenda, a debate and a decision: what will the future cathedral look like? The question is dividing: should it be something new or should it be based on blueprints designed by Viollet-le-Duc? According to Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot, the commission is more into tradition. Burnt in the fire, the spire could be rebuilt as an exact replica.
Invited on France Inter, the new minister explains “a wide consensus is being made in the public opinion and decision makers – since in the end it will be, I guess, the French President to decide – as for the identical reconstruction”. Yet, she qualifies her statement: “It is always difficult to say exactly “identical”, but in the spirit of the spire”.
The National Heritage and Architecture Commission (or Commission Nationale du Patrimoine et de l’Architecture – CNPA – in French), gathering elected, experts and architects, leads the talks focusing on three topics. The worksite of the cathedral includes the structure, the roof, and the spire. Lead architect Philippe Villeneuve – who knows Notre-Dame the best – is highly against the contemporary architectural element, that would take more time to make.
Because of lockdown, the dismantlement of the scaffolding surrounding Notre-Dame de Paris is postponed to September. The dismantlement influences the possibility to start restoring Notre-Dame that French President Emmanuel Macron wants to see rebuilt in five years’ time.
Whether it is the topic of an exhibition, or a necessary beacon for protests, Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral remains the heart of the French capital.
Location
Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral
Cathédrale Notre-Dame
75004 Paris 4
Access
Metro - RER: - Cité (4) - Saint Michel - Notre-Dame (B,C) - Hôtel de Ville (1,11) - Maubert-Mutualité / Cluny - La Sorbonne (10) - Châtelet - Les Halles (7,14,A,D)
